The Maratha Century

The future looked very bleak after sad demise of Chatrapati Shivaji in 1680. After short struggle to the throne Chatrapati Sambhaji did his best to salvage whatever was left in the turbulent times of era after Chatrapati Shivaji. The British in Bombay (Salsette), the Portuguese in Konkan belt, the Mughals attacking from the north and south. It was all a chaos and the Swarajya was still in its nascent stages and had to go through a lot before it became the Samrajya (the dream of Chatrapati Shivaji). From 1680 to 1689 it was Chatrapati Sambhaji who tried to protect and set the base for the future Maratha Century. His sad demise result from the inhuman torture ordered by Aurangzeb became an inspiration for the future Samrajya.

With a loss on all fronts and seeing his ambitious plans fail with his own eyes the Alamgir Aurangzeb died in Deccan in the year 1707, this started the famous Mughal legacy of the battle for the Peacock throne amongst the contendors which resulted into some respite for the battle torn Maratha public. Though the Maratha army was successful in defeating the treacherous plans of Alamgir Aurangzeb the fight has had a significant impact on the entire Deccan province and most importantly the Swarajya. The battle for Delhi allowed the Marathas to make some profits in the process through dilplomacy which gave rise to the Peshwa Balaji Vishwanth Bhat. The position of Peshwa was not new for the Marathas even Chatrapati Shivaji had a Peshwa named Moropant Pingale (the first Peshwa of te Maratha Empire). The only change which happened after Balaji Vishwanth Bhat was that his Peshwaship became a hereditary position. Though it became hereditary tranfers within the Bhat family all the Peshwas were deserving and had their contributions in the journey from Swarajya to Samrajya.

Balaji Vishwanth Bhat started his dominance in the Maratha Empire during the reign of Chatrapati Shahu. He was at first granted the title of Senakarte literally meant the person who will manage the administration of the Army. Later in 1713 Chatrapati Shahu elevated him to the position of the Peshwa. His Peshwaship lasted till 1720 which later was granted to Bajirao Ballal whose Peshwaship lasted till his death in 1740. Bajirao had a lasting impact on the 18th century India with artistic cavalry warfare. He used a perfect mix of diplomacy (hereditary learning from his father) and the art of warfare. He is known to have won 20 battles in his tenure of 20 years as the Peshwa. The undefeated general of the Maratha forces under Chatrapati Shahu. 

Post his death his son Balaji Bajirao (better known as Nanasaheb Peshwa) was granted the Peshwaship by Chatrapati Shahu. We can very well say that in his Peshwaship the Swarajya became the Samrajya the dream of Chatrapati Shivaji. The Maratha dominance was from Attock (present day Pakistan) in the north western India to Cuttak in the East and from Kumaon mountains in the north to Kaveri in the south. 1740 to 1761 was the Peshwaship period of the master administrator and diplomat Nanasaheb Peshwa. During his tenure Pune was the defacto capital of the Maratha Empire and this period is considered to be the most glorious period in the history of the city. He is known for his love for the city and the care for its people. 1761 the third battle of Panipat and the loss of the Marathas led to the death of Nanasaheb, it was more the guilt for not being able to save his brothers than the loss in the battle that resulted into his death. 

1761 to 1772 was the Peshwaship of Madhavrao Peshwa the son of Nanasaheb. His 11 years as Peshwa saw the rebirth of the Maratha Confederacy from the ashes of Panipat. In his short tenure and the internal tussle between him and his ambitious uncle Raghunathrao (Raghoba son Bajirao Ballal and younger brother of Nanasaheb) Madhavrao was able to stable the ship of the Maratha Confederacy and bring back the glory of the Samrajya. History makes you think of "what if stories" this is one of those "What if Madhavrao Peshwa not die at the age of 27" may be a topic of some other day for now let's get back to reality. 

1773 to 1800 was a period when there were too many unfateful events in the Maratha Empire. The ambitious Raghoba and his wife Anandbai created some strange set of events which resulted into Narayanrao the next Peshwa after Madhavrao die at the hands of his own infantry men. This event in the Maratha history is well known by the epithet "DHA cha MAA". An unfateful event which when reading you will question as to why such greed for power, but then in hindsight we always feel that things could have got better managed. 

Later we see some years of Raghoba as the Peshwa, his long standing wish of enjoying the Peshwaship finally became a reality but it did not last long. The tables turned and this ambitious son of Bajirao Ballal who had such an impactful career before the unfortunate death of Narayanrao spent the rest of his life in an abyss. He did make a few attempts to regain power with the help of the British but was never successful again. 

An important character in this time of 1773 to 1800 was not the Peshwa but his Phadnis named Balaji Janardan 'Nana' Phadnis (a Minister in the Peshwa administration) whose position in the Maratha Confederacy gave him an opportunity to enjoy even a bigger influence on things than the Peshwa. (He was the regent for the next Peshwa Sawai Madhavrao son of Narayanrao.)

He was witness of the lost battle of Panipat in 1761, came back to Pune with scars of the war and later with his intellect became the most influential of the Ministers in the Maratha Confederacy. He made sure that the tumultuous years from 1773 until his death in 1800 the control on the Confederacy was intact. Never led an army but had the wit to run the whole empire through his negotiation and diplomacy skills.

The events listed above clearly convey the message that it was not the Mughals from whom the British took over the control of India because until the Maratha Confederacy was intact and dominant the British had no chance. However, as they say it quite right that all goods things have an end likewise in 1818 we have the transfer of power from the Peshwa to British after the end of third Anglo Maratha war and this became the beginning of the British rule on the whole of India.